Application of Friction Modifier to Railroad Tracks

摩擦改进剂在铁轨上的应用

• 批准号: 557059-2020
• 负责人: Green, Sheldon
• 金额: $ 2.2万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=706516
• 关键词: Application; Friction; Modifier; Railroad; Tracks

This proposal involves two different, although related, collaborative projects between UBC and LB Foster Railroad Technologies Corporation. Both projects concern the application of friction modifier onto railroad tracks, to optimize the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the track. An optimal coefficient of friction is one that is sufficiently high to permit hill climbing and safe braking, but is lower than the metal-to -metal coefficient. The reduced coefficient of friction of a railroad track with friction modifier results in lower rates of track wear and noise production, and improved fuel economy, relative to an uncoated track. One process that is currently used to apply friction modifier to railroad tracks involves oozing a pool of viscous friction modifier liquid onto the tracks. As a train wheel passes over the pool, the liquid coats the wheel, and the liquid coating on the wheel is carried downstream by the motion of the train, coating the track farther downstream. The mechanics of this process are quite complex, as they involve the interplay between the free surface of the pool and the moving wheel. We have developed a good model for the process when the wheel is extremely wide (i.e., the flow is two-dimensional) and the liquid is Newtonian, and we now plan to expand both the theory and experiments to understand the three-dimensional problem with a non-Newtonian liquid. A second process under consideration is the use of an electrostatic powder sprayer to transfer friction modifier powder to the track from a moving train. There are at least two major hurdles that must be overcome to permit electrostatic powder spraying in this application: the electrostatic spray would be exposed to crosswinds whereas paint spraying is normally done in a spray booth, and friction modifier powder is either a semiconductor or a conductor, which is much more challenging to spray than the typical (insulating) paint powders. The goal here is to make electrostatic powder spraying practicable for track coating.

该提案涉及UBC和LB Foster Railroad Technologies Corporation之间的两个不同但相关的合作项目。这两个项目都涉及在铁路轨道上应用摩擦改进剂，以优化车轮和轨道之间的摩擦系数。最佳摩擦系数是足够高以允许爬山和安全制动，但低于金属对金属的系数。相对于未涂覆的轨道，具有摩擦改性剂的铁路轨道的降低的摩擦系数导致较低的轨道磨损率和噪声产生率，以及改善的燃料经济性。 目前用于将摩擦改性剂施加到铁路轨道上的一种方法涉及将粘性摩擦改性剂液体的池渗出到轨道上。当火车车轮经过水池时，液体涂覆车轮，并且车轮上的液体涂层被火车的运动带到下游，涂覆更下游的轨道。这一过程的力学相当复杂，因为它们涉及池的自由表面和移动轮之间的相互作用。我们已经为车轮极宽时的过程开发了一个很好的模型（即，流动是二维的），液体是牛顿的，我们现在计划扩展理论和实验，以理解非牛顿液体的三维问题。 第二个正在考虑的过程是使用静电粉末喷涂器将摩擦改性剂粉末从移动的火车转移到轨道上。在该应用中，必须克服至少两个主要障碍以允许静电粉末喷涂：静电喷涂将暴露于侧风，而油漆喷涂通常在喷涂室中进行，并且摩擦改性剂粉末是半导体或导体，这比典型的（绝缘）油漆粉末喷涂更具挑战性。本文的目的是使静电粉末喷涂在轨道涂层中切实可行。